That adage is true of Brodie Grundy, only that he will need a much larger No. 4 jumper than the one worn by his predecessor Alan Didak to go with them.
Grundy, who is 18cm taller than Didak, was too tall to squeeze into his new number when the CTV cameras came calling last week.
Once the new set of jumpers arrive, he is likely to feel comfortable wearing No. 4 on his back as it was the number he wore during his basketball career.
“After this year I knew I had to change numbers from No. 35 (worn by the club’s first selection in the National Draft each year) and I knew the No. 4 was available,” Grundy explained.
“I liked No. 4 and No. 7 but I decided to go with No. 4 because that was the first basketball number that I wore so I thought I’d start my sporting career on a number and then finish on the same one.
“I thought that’d be good symmetry.”
It wasn’t a number that was going to be handed on without some careful consideration, for it saw Didak through 218 games, 274 goals, a premiership and a Copeland Trophy amongst numerous other achievements.
“I made sure that during the off-season I called Marcus Wagner (Football Operations Manager) and locked in the number,” said Grundy.
“I told Bucks to save it for me but he said we’ll have to see how it goes.
“I came to training and it was all good. I’ll send Dids a message.”
Though they were born 11 years apart and played only three games together, Grundy and Didak still have a bit in common.
Both hail from South Australia and both were first-round draft selections.
“I got to know him pretty well,” Grundy said of Didak.
“Obviously he was from South Australia and we just talked about what it’s like back home and how different it is here.
“He was a big crowd favourite this year, especially in my first year.
“I’ll have to send him a message and see how he’s going.”
Interestingly, Grundy will end his career having worn the No. 35 and the No. 4, which were made famous by two of the club’s greatest small forwards in Peter Daicos and Didak.
Pies fans will be hoping that the numbers have a bit of Daicos and Didak magic left over for Grundy to put to good use in the years to come.
Collingwood players to have worn No. 4
1911 – P.Gibb
1912 – J.W. Green
1913 – J.W. Cordner
1914 – C.Dufty
1915 – L.A. Dobrigh
1916 – T.Clancy
1917 – A.B. Colechin
1918 – A.B. Colechin
1919 – L.A. Dobrigh
1920 – A.B. Colechin
1921 – A.B. Colechin
1922 – H.Curtis
1923 – H.Curtis
1924 – G.Davie
1925 – R.Boyle
1926 – J.Beveridge
1927 – A.Collier
1928 – A.Collier
1929 – J.Beveridge
1930 – P.Bowyer
1931 – P.Bowyer
1932 – P.Bowyer
1933 – G.Clayden
1934 – S.Coventry
1935 – P.Bowyer
1936 – J.H. Carmody
1937 – J.Boyall
1938 – P.Bowyer
1939 – N.Campbell
1940 – S.R. Dawson
1941 – P.S. Busbridge
1942 – K.Herbert
1943 – D.W. Balfour
1944 – E.Ryan
1945 – A.Brown
1946 – J.Burns
1947 – A.D. Denney
1948 – A.D. Denney
1949 – N.Broderick
1950 – N.Broderick
1951 – N.Broderick
1952 – K.Darrigan
1953 – K.Batchelor
1954 – K.Batchelor
1955 – K.Batchelor
1956 – B.Gray
1957 – B.Gray
1958 – B.Gray
1959 – B.Gray
1960 – B.Gray
1961 – B.Gray
1962 – B.Gray
1963 – B.Gray
1964 – B.Gray
1965 – B.Gray
1966 – J.Henderson
1967 – G.Wallis
1968 – G.Wallis
1969 – D.Wheadon
1970 – D.Wheadon
1971 – H.Coles
1972 – E.Potter
1973 – G.Bissett
1974 – G.Bissett
1975 – M.Delahunty
1976 – M.Batt
1977 – M.Batt
1978 – M.Batt
1979 – D.Shaw
1980 – M.Hanneberry
1981 – M.Hanneberry
1982 – M.Hanneberry
1983 – M.Hanneberry
1984 – G.Raines
1985 – G.Raines
1986 – Nil
1987 – P.Morwood
1988 – P.Hawke
1989 – P.Hawke
1990 – P.Hawke
1991 – Nil
1992 – G.Pert
1993 – G.Pert
1994 – G.Pert
1995 – G.Pert
1996 – Nil
1997 – A.James
1998 – Nil
1999 – Nil
2000 – Nil
2001 – A.Didak
2002 – A.Didak
2003 – A.Didak
2004 – A.Didak
2005 – A.Didak
2006 – A.Didak
2007 – A.Didak
2008 – A.Didak
2009 – A.Didak
2010 – A.Didak
2011 – A.Didak
2012 – A.Didak
2013 – A.Didak
2014 – B.Grundy
